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 Turmeric can stop cancer, says NRI doctor
Curcumin, a key coloring ingredient of turmeric, may have the power to block a protein active in the spread of breast cancer, said a study by researchers at the Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre. Dr Bharat Aggarwal, professor of cancer medicine in Anderson’s department of experimental therapeutics was intrigued by the healing powers of curcumin as it occupies an important position in Indian medicine. “In Indian medicine, curcumin is widely prescribed as a potent remedy for liver disorders, rheumatism, runny nose and diabetic wounds. I just wanted to take the research a step further,” said Aggarwal, a graduate from Delhi University.
Advanced breast cancer is difficult to fight, with few proven treatments available after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The results shown in this study and the possible implications for taking the findings into the clinic are immense.
Though the study is at a preliminary stage, Aggarwal and his team of six researchers, which include two other Indian doctors, found that curcumin not only repelled the progress of cancer to the lungs, but also reversed the negative effects of paclitaxel (Taxol), a commonly prescribed chemotherapy for breast cancer.
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M.V. Gupta becomes sixth NRI to
win World Food Prize
Modadugu V. Gupta has been conferred the prestigious World Food Prize, regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in the field of food and agriculture. Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug created the annual award in 1986 for outstanding achievements aimed at reducing hunger, malnutrition and rural poverty.
As a result of this work, landless farmers across Asia, particularly poor women, have been able to convert abandoned pools, roadside ditches, seasonally flooded fields and other bodies of water into productive units generating both food and income. As a result, fish production has risen by up to three to five times in many countries, including Bangladesh and Laos. Similar initiatives have now been implemented in Africa.
Prominent Ohio philanthropist John Ruan funds the award, which carries a proclamation by the governor of Ohio and a citation, an original sculpture and a cash award of US $250,000. The first World Food Prize was awarded to M.S. Swaminathan in 1986, and thereafter to four other NRI scientists. Gupta is the sixth Indian to get this coveted recognition for his work in improving nutrition, substantially raising the income and empowering women in over one million poor rural families in Bangladesh, Laos, Vietnam and some African countries by dramatically increasing freshwater fish production.
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 American NRI to run for state General Assembly
Attorney Dilip Paliath is to contest the Maryland State’s General Assembly.
Paliath, 34, chief counsel in Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, is the highest-ranking Indian in the administration. He feels he already has an advantage with the governor behind him. If elected next November, Paliath, whose parents hail from Kerala, will be the second Indian in the Maryland Assembly.
Born and brought up in Baltimore. Paliath decided to run for one of the Delegate slots that opened because the Republican announced he would not seek re-election. Paliath is married to Tracey, who is a political appointee of the governor. She is the assistant director, Baltimore city department of social services. They have a 17-month-old daughter, Hannah.
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 NRI wives frustrated over US visa regulations
Thousands of wives of skilled professionals who come for temporary work, extending over years, are frustrated because the visa regimes in the US do not allow spouses and dependents to work, however qualified they are. Nearly half a million H-1B (temporary work permit) visas have been issued in the last four years and about 300,000 visas have been issued for the professionals’ dependents, who cannot work.
The backlog of applications for permanent residence visas is 300,000. A typical case is that of Hanuma Samavedam, who lives in Washington. She came to the US after marrying her husband who is on H-1B. She has an MBA degree and experience as a finance manager at an accounting firm in India. But she cannot work unless and until her husband gets a green card or permanent visa.
Last month, US immigration authorities announced they had exceeded green card quotas for India and China, probably adding years for the long wait for applicants from those countries. Economists estimate that in major cities a family of three needs to earn $47,000 to $62,000 a year to get by. And not all skilled workers earn enough to live a normal middle class life in America, without the supplementary income of their spouses. |
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 NRIs can now eject their tenants: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has held that a non-resident Indian landlord can ask his tenant to immediately vacate the premises even though he does not intend to use it directly and still resides permanently in another country.
To eject a tenant, a non-resident Indian landlord is required to prove his non-resident Indian status and prove that the claim was made for his use or for the use of any dependent ordinarily living with him.
One also has to prove the property was owned for five years. This allows non-resident Indian landlords to get immediate possession of their leased premises.
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